People are utilizing portable electronic devices for an increasing number and variety of tasks. It is not uncommon for a user to have a personal media player, notebook computer, cell phone, and electronic book reader, among other such devices. Further, the demands on these devices increase as the devices offer enhanced functionality. For example, a tablet computer or portable gaming platform might perform most, if not all, of the tasks performed by the devices listed above. Thus, the amount of resource and power consumption required by these devices tends to increase, along with the need for the devices to have sufficient power for a user to utilize the devices as necessary.
In many instances, a user will forget to charge a device overnight, which ends up with the device losing power the next day. For tasks that rely upon these devices, not being able to utilize the device when needed can be at least inconvenient to the user. Even in cases where devices provide some indication of low battery power, the devices typically only provide a notification when the device is very low on power, which may be of little use if the user is not near a location where the device can be charged. Further, even when users do remember to charge the device every evening, for example, the consistent amount of “trickle” charging can shorten battery life, which can be particularly problematic for devices that do not utilize replaceable batteries.